Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Larsh.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised in the tiny east coast state of Rhode Island. For perspective, LA County is bigger than the entire state of RI. It’s so small that everyone knows each other (for better or worse), and honestly, it’s a place where very few people leave. And I always thought that I, too, would never leave. After all, Rhode Island has everything you could want within a hop and a skip: beautiful coastlines, some of the best restaurants in the world, great entertainment venues, historical sites, the best colleges in the nation, close proximity to NYC and Boston, and beauty all around. So, the thought of leaving never even crossed my mind.
I’m so fortunate to have two amazing parents and an older sister. Growing up, my sister and I were always best friends and collaborators. Whether it was making a pretend city with my Legos and having her Barbies live their best lives in it, we always had a creative spark between us. I particularly like drawing; she liked writing and won many awards for it. We both played instruments; me trumpet, her flute. Whatever my sister did, I did (and vice-versa). We had many of the same interests, including music and movies, which my parents embraced. They were big into music (I actually have all of their records); they loved movies, and never minded sharing these experiences with my sister and I, even at a young age (as long as we didn’t repeat any swear words and remained good students). Although my parents divorced when I was around 11 or 12, they always agreed on one thing: creativity was important. Weekends at Dad’s consisted of going to the movies, model building, or having him teach me perspective drawing, while the weeks with Mom consisted of school (of course) and additional creative ventures. She enrolled me in drawing classes at RISD, and even private music lessons. They are, and always have been, the most supportive parents.
It was movies, however, where I found my passion.
When I was 8, the movie “Titanic” was coming out. It was the biggest sensation in the world, but I was a little too young to go and see it in theaters. My sister, however, was in love with Leonardo DiCaprio and had to have gone and seen that movie a half-dozen times in the theater. I was jealous! What was I missing out on? Finally, when it came out on VHS, my parents bought it and allowed me to watch it. That was it. I was enthralled. It was an experience that transported me, and the images stuck in my head. This fascination made me ponder “how the heck was this made?”… which led me down a deep rabbit hole I could never climb back out of. I wanted to be a part of making an experience like that.
I remember first picking up a video camera at a childhood friend’s house. My sister, our two friends, and I would create short video sketches with their home video camera and play them back for our most influential audience: our moms. When we got laughs, we knew we did something right, and that kept us going. We never edited these because we weren’t that sophisticated back then, but I was learning how to tell a story.
When my sister got a point-and-shoot camera that recorded video, we immediately continued making short videos ourselves (some of which can still be found in the depths of YouTube from the days when it first launched). I discovered what was known as Windows Movie Maker, and I was fascinated by the plethora of transitions and various effects. I was immediately hooked on the editing process and what I could do to manipulate our footage When her camera wasn’t available, I would use my video games (mostly “The Sims”) to create machinima so I could continue to tell stories and edit.
Sometime later, my Dad bought me my first camcorder. This changed my life because all of my middle school and high school projects became videos from then on. My teachers were impressed, and my videos started garnering some attention. People started asking me to film their events. Even my town’s drama program began paying me to film their shows! My first “job”!
A friend who had seen some of my sister and I’s videos, as well as my Sims machinima, suggested that I explore the option of going to school for film… something that never even crossed my mind! (Thanks Darlene!) Later in high school, when it became time to start applying to colleges, I informed my parents that I wanted to go to school for film. As supportive as they are, they were reluctant at first. Rhode Island doesn’t have a huge film scene, and they wanted to make sure I had a plan. I didn’t have one, but I somehow convinced them that this was the right path for me.
I applied to RISD and I applied to colleges in the Boston area… but this was the beginning of the 2008 recession, and our finances were strapped. I even had to pass on some college applications because we couldn’t afford the associated fees with just applying. I didn’t get accepted to RISD, which was heart-breaking for me. I did get accepted everywhere else that I applied to, however. In fact, I was one signature away from going to the Art Institute (AI) in Boston, but when we saw the true cost of tuition, we realized we couldn’t touch it. Come to find out, I dodged a bullet because the place turned out to be a scam. But this roller coaster led to me going to a local institution in my home state: The University of Rhode Island.
I loved my time at URI. I started a student Film Collaborative organization. I even found my partner, the love of my life, at URI! I was hired by the university several times to make videos for their events and for their website and always dragged my partner with me on productions. Additionally, I got a couple of internships, one of which was at the local news (WJAR NBC10), and eventually led to me being hired as a temp. But, news wasn’t for me. I was terrible at that job.
I kept making videos outside of college. In fact, my former high school art teacher, Kerry Murphy, had applied for several state grants, and for five consecutive years, we made short documentaries with her students to highlight their artistic process as they explored each years’ theme.
These documentaries caught the interest of a URI professor, Roy Bergstrom, who gave me a job editing supplemental educational videos and other short form content to be used in university classrooms and even had me mentor students on a J-term trip to Belize to film a documentary, after having gone on one of these trips myself as a student. Roy would go on to teach a documentary class that took place at URI’s Bay Campus, which housed the ‘Graduate School of Oceanography’ (GSO), ‘Inner Space Center’ (ISC), and ‘Ocean Exploration Trust’ (OET). Come to find out, OET is Bob Ballard’s organization… the man who discovered the Titanic. The resulting documentary from Roy’s class, of which I was the main editor, was about coastal beach erosion. Conveniently enough while we were making this documentary, Hurricane Sandy hit. It turned out to be a pretty powerful piece, and it got some attention around URI.
I was the main editor of that little documentary, and my name got passed over to Scott Munro over at OET. After a brief interview, he offered me a job as an editor. The job consisted of taking video from underwater robots, called ROVs, and turning them into highlights for broadcast, and various video packages for their “Nautilus Live” website. It was a fascinating job, and I was working for a man (Bob Ballard) whom I had idolized since I was a kid. Furthermore, I got to work with some of the world’s leading scientists and oceanographers and even got to go out on the E/V Nautilus as a documentarian.
Working for OET was a dream come true, and I worked there for three years. I then got a job with a small Rhode Island independent production company, Animus Studios, whom I had interned with through my college years, and was with them for a year until I decided that I was going to move to LA and pursue my true passion: making movies.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course, it’s never a smooth road. The thing with editing, as is with so many creative fields, is that there is no one singular path. The path forward is all about discovery, and challenging yourself, always doing what’s hard, and putting your best foot forward. There’s always going to be a learning curve, especially if you’re running a business. I hate administrative work with a passion, so this aspect of running a business has always been daunting to me. But, if I want to get paid, I have to put on my big boy pants and just swing with the punches. Additionally, I’m my own tech support. I’m my own HR. I’m my own boss (which isn’t always a good thing). I’m really hard on myself.
I’ve filmed weddings. I’ve done corporate films. I’ve done commercials and adsets. Short films. Film competitions. Sometimes, it’s hard to get inspired, especially when you’re not doing what you want to be doing, but you must always be open-minded in order for inspiration to strike you so then you can get to what you want to be doing and where you want to be. It all adds up.
My whole career so far has been about taking leaps and having a support system in place. As previously mentioned, I have the most amazing parents. I came from the most amazing town. I still keep in touch with my high school art teacher and others, as well as the town’s drama program director, and my college professors, and college friends. No matter what, I always remember where I came from and where I’m going, and that always gets me through, even in difficult situations.
I’ve had two major breakdowns:
One, during the filming of my first wedding where I had inadequate equipment and a tiny 4GB memory card, I was backing up footage to a hard drive, which then went corrupt. Luckily, my partner was able to recover it (thank god), but I stepped out of the wedding for a minute and had a fainting panic attack. My first wedding. I then went on to do weddings for another five years.
Two. The night before my college senior film was due, my computer died. Luckily, my partner and best friend Becka came through and we recovered everything after working in my dorm room all through the night.
So, things can go to hell reallllllllly quickly if you’re not careful and smart about your processes. But, after these experiences, I have backups on backups on backups.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m an aspiring Feature Film Editor. While I’m growing in my experience on this path, I know what this means to me, and sometimes, it’s hard to articulate it to others. But ultimately, I want to work on projects that will have a lasting impact… something that, in 50 years, you can watch and still think “wow, that’s a damn good movie”. You know? My “Jurassic Park”. My “Star Wars”. My “Titanic”.
I’m getting there. I’m still in the beginning stages. I have signed on to my first feature film as editor, but the pandemic has delayed the start of production on that. So, in the meantime, I’ve edited a short student film, and am currently editing another short film for a friend.
There are many editors. It’s a saturated market. I think what sets me apart as an editor is that I’m adaptive to the needs of each project I’m working on, no matter the content. I now understand the importance of being calm and level headed during toxic and stressful situations, or when to recognize fatigue from working on a project and how to fix it. I also know when to recognize a project that’s worth my time, and ones that aren’t. That’s important, so you don’t get burned out. Always stay creative.
I’m so proud of the fact that I’ve been able to make a living off of doing what I love the most: telling stories.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
First and foremost, my parents. My grandparents. My teachers. My friends and family. My life and everything that I do is a conglomeration of all of the inspiration they have provided to me.
My biggest hero is my grandmother, who deeply supported my move to LA in 2017, but has since passed away. I have her picture on my desk, and she’s with me every day. But, having lived with her for over a decade through my parent’s divorce, she’s my biggest inspiration. She was such a strong, smart woman and loved me deeply. We had a special bond, so I carry everything she ever taught me with me every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://daniellarsh.cargo.site/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/daniellarsh
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